Pagan Roots – Page 12 – Wiccan information and resources

Water Element

Blue triangle symbol representing the element of water

Blue crescent moon symbol for the element of water

Invoking pentagram for the element of water

Banishing pentagram for the element of water

To use the invoking or banishing pentagram, begin tracing it out at the end of the arrow, and head in the direction the arrow is pointing.

The element of water is associated with femininity, the direction west, and the colours silver, blue and purple. This element is heavy, smooth, clear and flowing. Water is reflective, receptive and absorptive, malleable, mutable and a mediator. It is non-compressible or expandable, and an insulator, and it carries fire, air and earth.

Fire Element

Red triangle symbol representing the element of fire

Invoking pentagram for the element of fire

Banishing pentagram for the element of fire

To use the invoking or banishing pentagram, begin tracing it out at the end of the arrow, and head in the direction the arrow is pointing.

The element of fire is associated with masculinity, the direction south, and the colours red, orange and yellow. Fire is forceful, an animator, and penetrating. This element is non-mutable, compressible and expandable, weightless and storable. It evaporates water and is carried by air.

Air Element

Yellow triangle symbol representing the element of air

Yellow circle symbol representing the element of air

Invoking pentagram for the element of air

Banishing pentagram for the element of air

To use the invoking or banishing pentagram, begin tracing it out at the end of the arrow, and head in the direction the arrow is pointing.

The element of air is associated with masculinity, the direction east, and the colours white, blue and yellow – as well as transparency and translucency. The element of air is movable, mutable and malleable, it is reflective, and both insulates and penetrates. Air is transparent, light, compressible and expandable, and is a mediator. This element reacts to energy and carries fire.

Earth Element

Green triangle symbol representing the element of earth

Green square symbol representing the element of earth

Invoking pentagram for the element of earth

Banishing pentagram for the element of earth

To use the invoking or banishing pentagram, begin tracing it out at the end of the arrow, and head in the direction the arrow is pointing.

The element of earth is associated with femininity, the direction north, and the colours green, gold and brown. It is massive, solid, stable and enduring. Earth is non-mutable, non-compressible and non-expandable, it is an insulator, and resists motion. This element is receptive to water, and it renews and nourishes.

Rune Spreads

When laying out rune stones, there are almost as many different spreads as there are for Tarot cards. A few of the more popular ones are shown below. When laying out the runes you can draw them at random from a bag, so you can’t see what you’re picking or you can place them all face down, mixed up, on a table, and again choose at random.

Runes can appear reversed, as with Tarot cards, although not all users agree that a reversed rune should take on a different meaning. One practical reason for this is that some runes will appear the same upside down.

Elder Futhark Runes

The Elder Futhark is the oldest of the runic alphabet systems and was in use from the second to eighth centuries, before giving way to the Younger Futhark and Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. We don’t actually have any direct evidence for the names of these runes, but there have been reconstructions made using Proto-Germanic, Old Norse and Old English. What is known is that as well as being used as a writing system, runes were probably used for magic in some way from their earliest appearance.

Minor Arcana

The 56 Tarot cards of the Minor Arcana are comparable to those in a deck of standard playing cards. There are four suits – wands, cups, swords and coins / pentacles, and the cards range in value from an ace to a king in each suit. One difference is the court cards of the tarot consist of a page, as well as a knight, queen and king. Each card has its own individual meaning, but this can be changed when it is considered in combination with the other cards present in the reading.

For full information on the Minor Arcana cards check out this complete guide for beginners.

Major Arcana

The Tarot cards in the Major Arcana can be seen as more important than their counterparts in the Minor Arcana as they tend to relate to life changing events, or themes of deeper significance. Each card in the Major Arcana has a number, and a traditional name in both English and French. The cards can also be associated with an astrological ruler; this either an element, planet or zodiac sign. Finally, given that the cards have a history in Hindu religious customs it is perhaps unsurprising that the modern day cards have a link with Qabalah, a Hindu philosophical question. For each card I have given the Hebrew letter it relates to, as well as the path number which places it on one of the branches of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. Click the image above to see a larger version of the Tree of Life, or click any of the cards below for a very large version of it.

Tarot Spreads

Below I have given examples of a few different Tarot card spreads that you can use in different situations. This assumes that you have already shuffled the cards, as described in the main page on the Tarot cards. In each case the number given on the card tells you what order to lay them out in – place card number 1 first, 2 second etc. Deal from the top of the deck, and place the cards face down. If you are taking the cards from someone else who has shuffled them, make sure you note which edge they had closest to their body, and hold the deck the same way yourself when you are dealing.

Tarot

The Tarot cards began as a Hindu religious custom, keeping religious texts on cards, bound together by string. The cards were illustrated to explain the basic elements of the faith to the populace who were, at the time, largely illiterate. It is highly likely that they were brought to Europe by gypsies, migrating from Asia and as they spread so too did the Tarot, both as a card game, and as a fortune telling device.